Knitting machines



April 30, 1968 R. PEBERDY KNITTING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1, 1964 April 30, 1968 R. PEBERDY 3,380,265

KNITTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 1, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

United States Patent 3,380,265 KNITTING MACHINES Roland Peberdy, Leicester, England, assignor to The Bentley Engineering Company Limited, Leicester, England Filed Sept. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 393,515 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Sept. 5, 1963, 35,048/ 63 8 Claims. (CI. 66-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A patterning mechanism in a circular knitting machine of the opposed needle cylinder type has a pattern drum adapted to have patterning projections set up at selected peripheral locations in a plurality of axially spaced rings, selector levers appropriated one to each ring of projection locations on the drum for operation as the drum is racked around, by projections set up on the drum, each lever being movable between an operative location in which it is disposed for actuation by an appropriate projection on the drum and an inoperative position in which it is not so disposed. These levers are sub-divided into two banks associated with different groups of rings of projection locations on the drum, one bank being further subdivided into two sub-groups, control means including bluffing means common to said two sub-groups and operable in two steps successively to move first one and then the other of the two sub-groups of selector levers en bloc to inoperative position, and further control means operable to move the selector levers of the other bank en bloc to inoperative position.

This invention relates to knitting machines and is particularly concerned with patterning mechanism, of the type used to vary the stitch structure of a knitted fabric, in circular knitting machines of the opposed needle cylinder type: that is to say machines having two coaxial opposed (e.g. superimposed) needle cylinders (termed a plain cylinder and a rib cylinder), double ended needles operable in either cylinder to produce rib or plain needle loops and capable of transfer between the two cylinders to knit plain or rib fabric and to change the rib pattern, sliders in each cylinder for operating the needles, cams for operating the sliders, and needle selectors associated with one of the cylinders for sliding the sliders to obtain selective needle operation, under the control of patterning mechanism.

Types of stitches which are used frequently to create pattern effects in articles of hosiery are purl stitches interspersed with plain stitches (i.e. links-links patterns) and also non-knit stitches (i.e. float or tuck stitches).

With a multi-feed knitting machine of the said opposed needle cylinder type equipped with patterning mechanism associated with each feeding station it is possible to combine links-links with float stitch effects, and by feeding yarns of different colours a large variety of patterns is made available.

A- very effective design for an article of hosiery can be obtained by producing an overall small pattern as a background to a strong design which may appear down both sides of the leg and foot. A desirable variation in this type of article would be obtained if the strong design, instead of repeating down the sides of the leg, was only allowed to occur once say, so as to become an isolated design completely surrounded by the overall small background pattern.

It is to a means for modifying existing patterning mechanism to achieve this desired effect that this invention is directed.

The existing pattern mechanisms are of the pin-drum type having a bank of needle selector levers. Each lever is pivotally mounted in such a manner that when that end of the lever which co-operates with the pin drum is acted on by a pin projecting from the drum, the opposite end of the lever is lifted away from the butts of needle selectors carried by the needle cylinder. The pin drum may be split to make an upper and lower drum, each of which may be racked individually. This type of split drum permits a different pattern of pins to be laid out on each drum. Thus one drum may have the pins positioned to produce the overall small patterned background while the other drum has the pins arranged to provide the strong design down both sides of the leg and foot. The bank of selector levers, which extends across both top and bottom pattern drums, is provided with a control which lifts the levers en bloc away from the pins in the drum thus pivoting the other ends of the levers away from the butts of the selectors so that patterning is interrupted.

The present invention provides in a circular knitting machine of the opposed needle cylinder type, a patterning mechanism comprising a pattern drum (e.g. a pin drum) equipped or adapted to be equipped with patterning projections (e.g. pins) at selected peripheral locations in any selected rings of a plurality of axially spaced rings, selector levers appropriated one to each ring for actuation by projections in that ring as the drum is racked round thereby to select needles for predetermined patterning operations, each of which lever is movable between an operative location in which it is so disposed as to be actuated and an inoperative position in which it is not so disposed which levers are sub-divided into two banks associated respectively with a different group of the rings and one of which banks is further sub-divided into two sub-groups, a control operable in two steps to move first one and then the other of the two sub-groups of selector levers en bloc to inoperative position, and a further control operable to move the selector levers of the other bank en bloc to inoperative position. The drum may consist of a unitary drum, or of upper and lower drums capable of being racked individually.

For further explanation of the foregoing and other provisions of the invention, a patterning unit and butt set-out for producing an article of hosiery having an overall small background pattern and a strong design down both sides of the leg, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to certain of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an improved patterning unit with certain parts removed for clarity,

FIGURE 2 is a developed view of a previously known needle selector butt arrangement,

FIGURE 3 is a modified arrangement of FIGURE 2 for use with the improved mechanism,

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of a previously known sock having a small patterned background and a strong design down the side of the leg and foot,

FIGURE 5 is a variation of the design of sock shown in FIGURE 4 made possible by the modified patterning mechanism.

FIGURE 1 shows a somewhat modified form of a patterning unit of generally orthodox construction as used on a circular knitting machine such as one used for knitting mens socks. The unit illustrated has two pin drums, one of which is shown at 17, mounted respectively on a sleeve 24 and a spindle (not shown). The drums, when in action, are racked round at suitable intervals by pawls 28 and 29 associated with rack wheels 30 and 31 and controlled by blufiing levers 25 and 26. The levers 25 and 26 are operated in any convenient way, for example, by Bowden cable mechanism which may be connected to the unit at 32 and 33. Each drum is formed with circular rows of sockets holes 34 to receive outwardly projecting pins which are set up in arrangement to suit particular patterning dictates. The pins co-operate with portions of selector levers indicated at 7, 8 and 16 to move appropriate selector levers to cause them to co-operate with selector butts at appropriate levels in known manner.

A racking arm 101 is mounted for oscillatory movement about the axis of the drum and has an upstanding projection 101a which is equipped with two hexagon headed screws, one of which is shown at 102. The head of screw 102 is positioned to contact an edge of a pawl carrying plate 2811, which is also mounted for oscillatory movement about the axis of the drum. Pawl 28 is mounted on a shoulder screw 103, secured to the plate 28a. In like manner pawl 29 is mounted on a plate (not shown) which may be oscillated about the drum axis by contact with the head of the second screw such as 102 carried by the upstanding projection 101a.

The pawls 28 and 29 are given racking motions in conventional manner by contact of the arm 101 with a cam which encircles the needle cylinder.

Levers 25 and 26 are pivotally mounted on a post 104 secured to the base 27. They are urged in a clockwise direction by springs 25a and 26a against the action of cables (not shown) carried by the cable adjusting screws 32 and 33. The cable nipples locate in slots 25b and 26b of arms attached to the levers 25 and 26.

The ends of the levers 25 and 26 adjacent the pawls 28 and 29 are shaped to provide steps such as 25c and 25d. Each step provides a stop capable of limiting the fall-back of a pawl. The position of each lever is controlled by means of its respective cable from suitable cams carried by the main control drum of the machine so that either the stepped end is completely removed from its respective pawl, or one or the other step is positioned to limit the fall back of the pawl. If the pawl is allowed to fall back completely it will rack a tooth through two pitches. If the fall back is restricted by step 250 the pawl will rack a tooth through one pitch only and if the fall back is restricted by step 25d the pawl is unable to rack at all.

The selector butt set-out shown in FIGURE 2 is used to produce an article such as that shown in FIGURE 4. The pins in the top drum operate selector levers which co-operate with the butts shown above the line A-A and the pins of the lower drum operate selector levers cooperating with butts shown below line A-A. The camming ends of the selector levers are shown as. 1 and those of the delayed selector levers are shown as 2. (Delay selector levers are always required to bridge" the line of butts when the levers are lowered in, or lifted out, during patterning.)

The pins in the upper drum are arranged to actuate the selector levers to produce an overall small pattern in area shown as 3 in FIGURE 4. The pins in the lower drum are arranged to produce the strong design shown as 4 in FIGURE 4. As can be seen in FIGURE 2 the selector butts 5 are arranged on selectors in each trick of the two arcs of circumference of the needle cylinder which extend between the panels of butts 6 which control the needles which knit the strong design down each side of the sock. Thus the selector levers associated with the pins of the upper drum will act upon butts 5 to produce the overall small pattern in the areas 3 FIGURE 4 while the selector levers associated with the pins of the lower drum will act upon butts 6 to produce the strong design such as 4 down each side of the sock. By using split drums, either drum may be racked independently thus allowing, say, single racking on one and double racking on the other etc. to increase the patterning scope.

The modification to this patterning mechanism which is necessary to produce the article shown in FIGURE 5 will now be described.

FIGURE 1 shows a modified patterning unit. The upper drum has been removed to enable the selector levers to be seen. The control to the bank of levers has now been split so that instead of a single control spanning the levers associated with both drums, the levers have been split into two banks, one for each drum and each having its own control.

In addition to this the levers of one of the banks (in this case the upper bank) are also formed into two subgroups, one sub-group having a projection formed on an edge of each selector lever, the said edge being that which is acted upon by the common control for the two groups forming the upper bank. In the present instance there are five levers indicated by the number 7 in FIGURE 1 which have the projection 7a. The levers immediately above them are represented by chain dot lines 8 and the top lever of this sub-group is shown as 8a. These levers do not have a projection. (A group of four selector levers are shown above lever 8a but these may be disregarded so far as this description is concerned.) There is a control common to both sub-groups, in the form of a fiat bar 9 which is attached to a tube 10 carried on a vertical spindle 11 which has a bearing in the cast base 12 of the patterning unit. The tube 10 and spindle 11 protrude through a top plate 13 of the unit and are each provided with a lever 14 and 15 respectively. The levers are operated from the main control drum by cables attached to the ends 14a and 15a of the levers. By pulling on the cables the levers are urged in a contra-clockwise direction, thus the lever 14 will turn the tube 10- about the spindle 11 to cause the attached bar 9 to lift first the levers 7 of one sub-group by contact with the projection 7a and then by pulling the cable further the sub-group of levers 8 will also be lifted. The levers forming the upper bank are thus lifted out of action in two steps, one step for each sub group, by two successive pulls on the cable obtained from a two step cam on the main control drum. The levers 14 and 15 are returned by spring means when tension is released in the cables.

The lower bank of levers 16 associated with the lower pattern drum 17 are operated in similar fashion. They are not split into tWo sub-groups but are all lifted out of action by a single pull on the cable attached to end 15a of lever 15, the lever being attached to the spindle 11 which is provided with a bar 18 for lifting the bank of levers 16 out of action en bloc.

If reference is made to FIGURE 3 it will be seen that two more groups of butts 19 have been introduced by providing another butt on each needle selector having a butt 6. These butts 19 are positioned to be operated on by the group of selector levers 7 having the projection 7a.

The small background pattern can now be produced all round the sock (as indicated in FIGURE 5 by the number 20) by using only the upper pattern drum and the two groups of selector levers of the upper bank acting upon butts 5 and 19 FIGURE 3.

At the commencement of the isolated pattern 21 FIG- URE 5 the lever 14 FIGURE 1 is operated by its cable to lift only the selector levers 7 (by contact with their projection 7a) clear of the butts 19. At the same time the lever 15 is operated by its cable to lower the selector levers 16 into the path of the butts 6 for selection according to the pattern of pins in the lower drum.

The result of this will be that the small pattern will continue in the areas 22 FIGURE 5 by using butts 5 FIGURE 3. It will cease in the Wales contained in the isolated pattern area 21 so that the different pattern setout on the lower pin drum may be obtained by using butts 6. It should be pointed out that, where the background pattern is required inside the wales and courses bordering the isolated pattern area, e.g. in corners 23 in FIGURE 5, the selection of needles is made from butts 6, the pins of the lower drum being arranged to provide the necessary selection for all stitches in the rectangle abcd.

At the finish of the isolated pattern area 21 the lever is again operated to lift the lower bank of selector levers 16 clear of butts 6 and leave their needle selectors free for continuation of the background pattern on butts 19, the lever 14 having been again operated to lower selector levers 7 back into action.

Patterning is continued as long as desired using the top drum only. The lever 14 is then operated by its cable through the complete movement necessary to lift both sub-groups of the upper bank of levers out of action.

What I claim is:

1. In a circular knitting machine of the opposed needle cylinder type, patterning mechanism comprising in combination a pattern drum adapted for mounting of patterning projections at selected peripheral locations in any of a plurality of axially spaced rings, selector levers appropriated one to each ring of projection locations for actuation by projections in the appropriate rings as the drum is racked round so as to select needles for predetermined patterning operations, means for mounting said levers so that each is movable between an operative location in which it is so disposed as to be actuated by an appropriate projection on the drum and an inoperative position in which it is not so disposed, said levers being sub-divided into two banks associated respectively with different groups of rings on the drum, one of which banks of levers is further sub-divided into two sub-groups, control means including bluffing means common to said two sub groups and operable in two steps successively to move first one and then the other of the two sub-groups of the selector levers en bloc to inoperative position, and further control means operable to move the selector levers of the other bank en block to inoperative position.

2. Patterning mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the pattern drum consists of a unitary drum extending continuously across both banks of the levers.

3. Patterning mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the drum consists of upper and lower drum sections separate from one another and capable of being racked individually, such sections being associated respectively with the two banks of the levers.

4. Patterning mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the control means for moving the selector levers to inoperative position comprises bars and means for mounting such bars to extend across the selector levers and permit each bar to turn about its longitudinal axis to deflect the related selector levers to inoperative position.

5. Patterning mechanism according to claim 4 having a control bar forming the blufiing means common to the two sub-groups of the first bank of selector levers and means whereby turning of said bar causes the levers of one sub-group to be engaged and deflected to inoperative position before the levers of the other sub-group are similarly engaged and deflected.

6. Patterning mechanism according to claim 5 having provided on the selector levers of the first sub-group projections to co-operate with the related control bar whereby such levers are caused to be deflected ,by the control bar before said bar engages the selector levers of the other sub-group.

7. In a circular knitting machine of the opposed needle cylinder type, patterning mechanism comprising in combination a pattern drum equipped with means for supporting patterning projections arranged in coaxial circumferential axially spaced rings, a set of selector levers allocated one to each ring of projection locations for actuation during racking of the drum by projections set up thereon to select needles for predetermined patterning operations, means mounting said levers so that each is movable between an operative location in which it is so disposed as to be actuatable by a patterning projection and an inoperative position in which it is not so disposed, said levers being sub-divided into tWo banks associated respectively with different groups of rings of locations for patterning projections, one of which banks of levers is further sub-divided into two sub-groups, movable control bars associated respectively with the two banks of levers and extending across them for moving the banks of levers respectively groupwise into their inoperative positions, and means whereby movement of the control bar associated with the sub-divided bank of levers is caused when operated to move first one and then the other of the subgroups of levers groupwise to their inoperative positions.

8. Patterning mechanism according to claim 7 wherein the selector levers of the first sub-group of the subdivided bank of levers are provided with projections to cooperate with the appropriate control bar, whereby the levers of the first sub-group are caused to be deflected to their inoperative positions before the levers of the other sub-group are so deflected.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,196,073 4/1940 Kent et al. 6650 2,579,161 12/1951 Teague 66l4 2,780,931 2/1957 Lawson et al. 66-14 3,093,987 6/1963 Zahr-adka et al. 6650 X 3,184,929 5/ 1965 Reymes-Cole 6650 3,205,683 9/1965 Coile 66-50 WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner. 

